How do startups get into accelerator
How can a Russian startup get into an American business accelerator? What to do, where to go, how to prepare? What advantages does it give? Under the cut a bit of useful information from personal experience.
We launched TradingView a year and a half ago . Over time, it became clear that independent PR attempts cost too much and do not bring the expected result . The ideal option was to get on the acceleration program, which we did, having gained a lot of interesting experience in the process.
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At once I will make a reservation that there is a lot of information, but to structure it well in one article is a difficult task. Therefore, I will try to describe the most useful and then deployed to answer any questions in the comments.
First, a little well-known theory.
These are companies based on funds or business incubators that offer services for the intensive development of your project for a percentage. Accelerators provide projects with strong expert support, training, communication with potential partners, investors, media coverage of the project.
The two main advantages that accelerators provide are mentoring (constant work with experts from different fields) and investments that are provided by investment partners of the acceleration program.
I will not dwell on all the details of the work of accelerators, Wikipedia writes quite well about this.
All modern accelerators work on a similar principle. Several times a year, they collect application forms from potential candidates and gradually select the most deserving ones. Further, the project team for a period of 2 to 4 months is placed in conditions that allow you to effectively prepare for investment (in most cases, it is a co-working space based on the accelerator itself). I am not going to write about this stage yet - it is just yet to come, but if there is interest, I will certainly post updates in the course of events.
Below I will give a list of companies with whom we happened to communicate in chronological order. If someone is interested in an extended list of accelerators, where you can apply, then you can look here or here immediately with on the map .
Ycombinator - the most famous and popular accelerator. Created by Paul Graham, a famous programmer and entrepreneur. Since 2005, YC has selected and invested 460 startups, including Loopt, Reddit, Airbnb and Optimizely. The program takes place twice a year - in the winter and in the summer, it is necessary to submit an application respectively in the fall or spring.
The selection takes place in two stages:
1. Review and screening profiles. Every half year Ycombinator receives about 1000 applications and select 100 for the interview. This stage is very important and if you fill in the questionnaire correctly, your chances of getting an interview are much higher than 1 in 10. At this stage, everything is more or less standard and we’ll go back to this later.
2. Interview. I do not know how anyone, but with us it was a continuous mockery and humiliation - the mood was spoiled a month in advance. Firstly, the interview must be attended in person. This means that you need to fly to California with all the consequences. In our case, the whole trip took 4 days, most of which we spent on the road: 2 hours flight Rostov-Moscow, 2 hours waiting for the flight Moscow-Los Angeles and 12 hours flight, 6 hours by car to San Francisco.
Secondly, the interview itself lasts 10 minutes, after which you cannot fly home, and you have to wait another day for a decision. If the answer is positive, you need to come to the office again to get additional instructions. The plus is that travel expenses are paid, but paid by American check, which can be cashed only in America.
Interviews take place within 4 days, the day and time can be chosen in advance. We arrived half an hour earlier. But despite the fact that everyone has the appointed time - the beginning of our interview was delayed by almost an hour. The YCombinator office is mostly a hangar with high ceilings and plywood furniture.
Interviews are held simultaneously in three rooms, each with 4-5 representatives of YCombinator. The room was 5 people, among which the creator of Reddit - Steve Huffman.
In essence, the conversation wore a stressful interview format. Everybody is asking a variety of questions. Answer or do not listen to the end or criticize with such a look, as if you said nonsense or banalism. The most difficult thing is if English is not your native language, as in our case. I last experienced such feelings in school in a Russian lesson, when my dictation with a bunch of mistakes Maria Ivanovna read in a rumor before a class.
GrowLab is a small accelerator from Canada. We talked on Skype, I don’t remember the details, but as a result we were told that we are too large a project for their format.
Techstars NYC . Techstars is the second most popular accelerator, which consists of several subsidiaries in New York, Boston, Chicago, London and Seattle. In fact, each branch is a separate organization, where different people conduct interviews. So feel free to send a questionnaire to each of them, especially programs go with a slight shift and you can submit a new application at least every month.
We successfully passed a preliminary screening for a program in New York, after which we were assigned an interview. It was a 15-minute conversation through Google Hangout. A young man of Asian descent talked with us. Unlike the YCombinator, he was extremely polite and attentive, but he always had a connection and, judging by the picture, he was in the kitchen. A couple of days later we received a refusal, although personally it didn’t upset me very much - the organization seemed very mediocre. Who is interested can see the list of startups that have passed this selection .
Techstars Chicago . It was all very different from previous interviews. First of all, we were urged to come to Chicago personally. We fulfilled this request only partially, sending one person out of three. Secondly, instead of one interview, there were as many as three on different days (that is, I had to go several times). Each meeting took 30 minutes and this time was enough to discuss in detail all the details of the project. After the first two interviews out of 100 projects selected 20, after the second left 10 finalists , among whom were we.
By the way, Techstars Chicago's office is great - this is a huge open space on a high floor in the very center of the city.
DreamIt Austin, NYC - this interview took place after the good news from Chicago, so I personally missed it. We communicated via Skype, as a result were refused without giving reasons.
Below are a few practical tips on how to fill out a questionnaire and what to pay special attention to in order to increase chances.
Plan to send the questionnaire at least a couple of weeks before the deadline for their admission. By tradition, the absolute majority of the questionnaires are filled out in recent days, which means you will get extra attention and time if you do it earlier. As we were told, 25% of all questionnaires come on the last day and most of them simply do not have time to browse.
Your success probably depends on how responsibly you are in completing the questionnaire. It contains many ambiguous questions that require detailed answers and reasoning. Most likely this is the first exam, which determines how much you need it. No one will delve into your idea if you send a link and limit yourself to general phrases in the answers. The only way to make a first impression is to express your eloquence.
It is best to spend a few days writing answers. Re-read and edit, be precise and specific. Let me read what is written to friends, correct the places causing questions. For example, you can use our questionnaires, perhaps in them you will find something useful.
Accelerators like to say that in the first place they have a team, and the idea is secondary. The idea may change several times and it is important for them to know that the team will effectively cope with this circumstance. On the interview with Techstars, I mentioned several times about our experience and ability to use Agile methodologies, perhaps it had a certain effect.
In doing so, do not hesitate to criticize yourself and mention weaknesses or addictions - this causes more confidence. Here, for example, about me: “It’s a little bit, as it’s been,” He's also an avid chess and poker player. ”
By the way, a popular question at the interview - what problems do you have when communicating in a team and what disadvantages do each other have. The worst answer is that we have no problems and we interact perfectly. Try to think in advance what to answer this question, the main thing is that it sounds convincing.
Also find a partner - accelerators love when a startup has two or three founders. This is very important: you will not be seriously considered alone. It is difficult to say what kind of logic is behind this, but they do not believe in the success of the project without cooperation and collaboration.
Try to break the responsibility of roles, let's say someone is responsible for the technical part, the other - the ideological leader.
Be sure to record a video appeal, which will be all partners. Try to explain the essence of your idea in one minute. Show the entire team on video, even if only one person is talking.
If you do not have a working product - prepare a demo / alpha version. No one will watch the presentation.
No need to set big, but blurry goals. No one would believe if you say what you want to do as Google, but better. Convey the idea so that you can believe in it.
Try to avoid common phrases. Explain the essence of the idea more specifically, using technical terms. You will talk with people who better represent you how to sell an idea - they do not need slogans from marketers. A good option is to describe the idea in well-known terms, such as “Wikipedia for doctors”.
If you fill out a form, be prepared to organize a trip in two weeks. A second chance may not be. At a minimum, you will need a US visa, which will take about a month to receive.
Perhaps this is all for today. If you have specific questions - I will answer all in the comments. If you like it - put a plus sign. If you need to write a sequel and details of what's happening in Techstars - put a plus sign. If you have questions on cooperation or exchange of experience - write in a personal. Thank you all and good holidays.
We launched TradingView a year and a half ago . Over time, it became clear that independent PR attempts cost too much and do not bring the expected result . The ideal option was to get on the acceleration program, which we did, having gained a lot of interesting experience in the process.
')
At once I will make a reservation that there is a lot of information, but to structure it well in one article is a difficult task. Therefore, I will try to describe the most useful and then deployed to answer any questions in the comments.
First, a little well-known theory.
What are accelerators
These are companies based on funds or business incubators that offer services for the intensive development of your project for a percentage. Accelerators provide projects with strong expert support, training, communication with potential partners, investors, media coverage of the project.
The two main advantages that accelerators provide are mentoring (constant work with experts from different fields) and investments that are provided by investment partners of the acceleration program.
I will not dwell on all the details of the work of accelerators, Wikipedia writes quite well about this.
General principles
All modern accelerators work on a similar principle. Several times a year, they collect application forms from potential candidates and gradually select the most deserving ones. Further, the project team for a period of 2 to 4 months is placed in conditions that allow you to effectively prepare for investment (in most cases, it is a co-working space based on the accelerator itself). I am not going to write about this stage yet - it is just yet to come, but if there is interest, I will certainly post updates in the course of events.
Brief description of accelerators and their distinctive features
Below I will give a list of companies with whom we happened to communicate in chronological order. If someone is interested in an extended list of accelerators, where you can apply, then you can look here or here immediately with on the map .
Ycombinator - the most famous and popular accelerator. Created by Paul Graham, a famous programmer and entrepreneur. Since 2005, YC has selected and invested 460 startups, including Loopt, Reddit, Airbnb and Optimizely. The program takes place twice a year - in the winter and in the summer, it is necessary to submit an application respectively in the fall or spring.
The selection takes place in two stages:
1. Review and screening profiles. Every half year Ycombinator receives about 1000 applications and select 100 for the interview. This stage is very important and if you fill in the questionnaire correctly, your chances of getting an interview are much higher than 1 in 10. At this stage, everything is more or less standard and we’ll go back to this later.
2. Interview. I do not know how anyone, but with us it was a continuous mockery and humiliation - the mood was spoiled a month in advance. Firstly, the interview must be attended in person. This means that you need to fly to California with all the consequences. In our case, the whole trip took 4 days, most of which we spent on the road: 2 hours flight Rostov-Moscow, 2 hours waiting for the flight Moscow-Los Angeles and 12 hours flight, 6 hours by car to San Francisco.
Secondly, the interview itself lasts 10 minutes, after which you cannot fly home, and you have to wait another day for a decision. If the answer is positive, you need to come to the office again to get additional instructions. The plus is that travel expenses are paid, but paid by American check, which can be cashed only in America.
Interviews take place within 4 days, the day and time can be chosen in advance. We arrived half an hour earlier. But despite the fact that everyone has the appointed time - the beginning of our interview was delayed by almost an hour. The YCombinator office is mostly a hangar with high ceilings and plywood furniture.
Interviews are held simultaneously in three rooms, each with 4-5 representatives of YCombinator. The room was 5 people, among which the creator of Reddit - Steve Huffman.
In essence, the conversation wore a stressful interview format. Everybody is asking a variety of questions. Answer or do not listen to the end or criticize with such a look, as if you said nonsense or banalism. The most difficult thing is if English is not your native language, as in our case. I last experienced such feelings in school in a Russian lesson, when my dictation with a bunch of mistakes Maria Ivanovna read in a rumor before a class.
GrowLab is a small accelerator from Canada. We talked on Skype, I don’t remember the details, but as a result we were told that we are too large a project for their format.
Techstars NYC . Techstars is the second most popular accelerator, which consists of several subsidiaries in New York, Boston, Chicago, London and Seattle. In fact, each branch is a separate organization, where different people conduct interviews. So feel free to send a questionnaire to each of them, especially programs go with a slight shift and you can submit a new application at least every month.
We successfully passed a preliminary screening for a program in New York, after which we were assigned an interview. It was a 15-minute conversation through Google Hangout. A young man of Asian descent talked with us. Unlike the YCombinator, he was extremely polite and attentive, but he always had a connection and, judging by the picture, he was in the kitchen. A couple of days later we received a refusal, although personally it didn’t upset me very much - the organization seemed very mediocre. Who is interested can see the list of startups that have passed this selection .
Techstars Chicago . It was all very different from previous interviews. First of all, we were urged to come to Chicago personally. We fulfilled this request only partially, sending one person out of three. Secondly, instead of one interview, there were as many as three on different days (that is, I had to go several times). Each meeting took 30 minutes and this time was enough to discuss in detail all the details of the project. After the first two interviews out of 100 projects selected 20, after the second left 10 finalists , among whom were we.
By the way, Techstars Chicago's office is great - this is a huge open space on a high floor in the very center of the city.
DreamIt Austin, NYC - this interview took place after the good news from Chicago, so I personally missed it. We communicated via Skype, as a result were refused without giving reasons.
Intermediate conclusions
- If you decide to link your project with the accelerator, then start TechStars - they left the most positive impression. However, if you do not have the opportunity to fly to the US personally - it is better to choose those accelerators that do not require personal attendance. At a minimum, this will give you some experience and confidence.
- The failure of one of the accelerators does not mean anything - try again. It seems that the refusal may be due to a number of reasons, some of which you are not able to control.
- By and large, the most important criterion is whether they invite you for an interview. At this stage, 90% of the questionnaires are screened out and in most cases the reason is that they are not given enough time. You can create any ingenious project, but no one will pay attention to it if you do not describe it well.
Below are a few practical tips on how to fill out a questionnaire and what to pay special attention to in order to increase chances.
Get ready in advance
Plan to send the questionnaire at least a couple of weeks before the deadline for their admission. By tradition, the absolute majority of the questionnaires are filled out in recent days, which means you will get extra attention and time if you do it earlier. As we were told, 25% of all questionnaires come on the last day and most of them simply do not have time to browse.
Take care in filling out the questionnaire
Your success probably depends on how responsibly you are in completing the questionnaire. It contains many ambiguous questions that require detailed answers and reasoning. Most likely this is the first exam, which determines how much you need it. No one will delve into your idea if you send a link and limit yourself to general phrases in the answers. The only way to make a first impression is to express your eloquence.
It is best to spend a few days writing answers. Re-read and edit, be precise and specific. Let me read what is written to friends, correct the places causing questions. For example, you can use our questionnaires, perhaps in them you will find something useful.
The team is more important than the idea!
Accelerators like to say that in the first place they have a team, and the idea is secondary. The idea may change several times and it is important for them to know that the team will effectively cope with this circumstance. On the interview with Techstars, I mentioned several times about our experience and ability to use Agile methodologies, perhaps it had a certain effect.
In doing so, do not hesitate to criticize yourself and mention weaknesses or addictions - this causes more confidence. Here, for example, about me: “It’s a little bit, as it’s been,” He's also an avid chess and poker player. ”
By the way, a popular question at the interview - what problems do you have when communicating in a team and what disadvantages do each other have. The worst answer is that we have no problems and we interact perfectly. Try to think in advance what to answer this question, the main thing is that it sounds convincing.
Also find a partner - accelerators love when a startup has two or three founders. This is very important: you will not be seriously considered alone. It is difficult to say what kind of logic is behind this, but they do not believe in the success of the project without cooperation and collaboration.
Try to break the responsibility of roles, let's say someone is responsible for the technical part, the other - the ideological leader.
Record a video
Be sure to record a video appeal, which will be all partners. Try to explain the essence of your idea in one minute. Show the entire team on video, even if only one person is talking.
No presentations
If you do not have a working product - prepare a demo / alpha version. No one will watch the presentation.
Be realistic
No need to set big, but blurry goals. No one would believe if you say what you want to do as Google, but better. Convey the idea so that you can believe in it.
Try to avoid common phrases. Explain the essence of the idea more specifically, using technical terms. You will talk with people who better represent you how to sell an idea - they do not need slogans from marketers. A good option is to describe the idea in well-known terms, such as “Wikipedia for doctors”.
Plan your trip
If you fill out a form, be prepared to organize a trip in two weeks. A second chance may not be. At a minimum, you will need a US visa, which will take about a month to receive.
Perhaps this is all for today. If you have specific questions - I will answer all in the comments. If you like it - put a plus sign. If you need to write a sequel and details of what's happening in Techstars - put a plus sign. If you have questions on cooperation or exchange of experience - write in a personal. Thank you all and good holidays.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/178417/
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